A Cup of Tea
by NCISbinge
Summary: A conversation between Ducky and Ziva...


**A Cup of Tea**

 _I swear I heard demons yelling..._

 _-Ode To Sleep, Twenty One Pilots_

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 **Hello! I've had this started for a while but only got round to finishing it recently. There was no direction for this story, just a bit of randomness. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy reading!**

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Ducky got out of the lift, humming to himself. The autopsy doors slid open and the lights flickered on. Ducky gasped when he saw a body on one of the slabs, but instantly realised it was just Ziva. He walked over to his desk and put the kettle on.

"My dear, would you like a cup of tea?" Ducky queried as he got two mugs out and proceeded to add sugar and tea bags.

"That would be nice. Thank you." Ziva replied as she swung her legs around and sat up. Ducky sat at his desk as he waited for the kettle to boil.

"May I ask what you brings you down here?" Ducky questioned as Ziva stared down into her lap.

"I have not been feeling myself lately..." Ziva trailed off.

"Ah yes. Your friends are rather worried about you." Ducky poured the boiling water in the mugs and gave them a stir. Ziva looked up when he mentioned her friends.

"How do you know?" Ziva accepted the cup of tea Ducky handed to her.

"Each of them have visited to ask of my advice. They care about you, Ziva. You should not turn them away when they try to help you."

Ziva looked down into her lap again. There had been lots of times recently where Abby or McGee or Tony had invited her out for drinks or to watch a film and she'd turned it down without a second thought. She always felt like a burden with her problems. She didn't want people to feel pity for her- especially her friends. What she'd been through in her life was definitely something no one should have to, but it didn't mean she needed people to feel sorry for her.

"They have problems of their own, they do not need mine to weigh them down as well." Ziva explained her reasoning.

"A problem shared is a problem halved, my dear." Ducky tilted his head towards her then took a sip of tea.

"You words are always wise, Ducky." Ziva looked down into her lap again, feeling slightly sorry for herself.

"It's the truth. It becomes a problem for your friends when they know something's wrong but you won't tell them. Do you really think that your problems will be a burden to them?"

"You see what I mean? Even when I stay quiet I still cause problems. Of course I do, Ducky. All my life I've had to deal with issues on my own, with no one to help. I'm not use to just being able to look over to Tony or McGee and start telling them what's wrong." Ziva let out a frustrated breath.

"I understand, my dear. However, you have to realise that everything in your life is completely different now to what it used to be. You have people who care for you, you have a job you love and you're fighting against the evil in this world." Ducky walked over to her and leaned against the autopsy table, cup of tea in hand.

"I know you feel vulnerable when you have to tell people how you feel, but it's human nature for others to want to help you. Most people feel the same as you. Here's a little story for you, when I was a young teenager, I started getting bullied at school. I won't go into detail about it but it carried on for a few weeks before I realised that I wouldn't be able to solve the problem alone. Before I knew it, the bullies were being suspended and I started enjoying school again. By bottling your feelings up inside, you're only allowing them to become worse. They'll catch up with you eventually." Ducky patted Ziva's leg and walked back over to his desk.

"You are right, Ducky. I am only making things worse for not only myself, but those around me too. I don't want everyone to think I'm purposefully blocking them out." Ziva placed the cup and saucer next to her.

"Abby, McGee _and_ Tony often come down when they have something on their mind. They enter with a troubled expression and leave with a smile, because talking often helps keep people grounded. You should give it a try, my dear." He got up and took her cup from off the table.

"I didn't know that they were the types to open up about their troubles either." Ziva thought for a few moments. "Thank you for the tea, Ducky." Ziva got up and walked over to the automatic doors. She turned back to face Ducky. "And thank you for advice and listening, it is always appreciated." She smiled shyly.

"You are most welcome, Ziva. Anytime you want a chat, you know where I am. And of course, a cup of tea always helps." He winked and swivelled back round in his chair.

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 **really enjoying writing stories at the moment.**


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